Councillors in Kingsbridge have criticised the local police for allegedly failing to do more to prevent anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the town.

The issue was debated at a council meeting on October 8 following a spate of incidents outside a local cafe, involving groups of between five and 15 youths, many of whom are reportedly teenagers.

According to police, rowdy individuals regularly gather in the area into the early hours of the morning to drink alcohol, play loud music and smash bottles, causing “absolute misery to business owners and those that live nearby”.

The noisy gatherings reputedly go on throughout the week, including weekends, from early in the afternoon to about 4am.

The incidents have become such a regular feature that the local police posted a message on Facebook last month, pledging to drag unruly children back to their parents’ home, even if means knocking on doors at 2am.

But councillors have given a lukewarm response to the initiative, with some openly criticising the police and accusing the force of failing to crack down on louts.

An exasperated Cllr Michael Jennings said there should be a larger police presence on the streets, with more officers on the beat rather than patrolling in cars, a view that was shared by the other councillors.

Speaking after the meeting, he said: “We don't see the police on the ground. You see the police cars driving around, but you're not actually seeing bobbies.

“What we need is more resources that physically stay in Kingsbridge and surrounding areas. At the moment, we've got the police going from Kingsbridge into Torquay, Plymouth and Paignton, wherever there's incidents happening.”

He claimed the public’s trust in the police was being eroded as a result. “People's attitude and morale towards the police is pretty much dwindling to nothing, and this is why people are not reporting (crime),” he said.

South Hams District Council leader Julian Brazil, who attended the meeting, joined the debate, saying “police presence down here has been cut”.

He said: “My understanding is a sergeant at Kingsbridge is now gone and it's run (sic) from Dartmouth. We are being seriously cut with police officers in this area, and that is not what we were told was the case.”

Asked for a response Sgt Charles Wilkes, who serves in Kingsbridge, rebutted Cllr Brazil’s claims, saying: “I am full time from Kingsbridge and not working out of Dartmouth; our presence hasn’t been cut at all, if anything we’ve increased our numbers in recent months.”

According to official data, the force in Kingsbridge includes one sergeant and three constables.

Meanwhile, the latest police figures show there were 25 reported crimes in Kingsbridge in September, down slightly from August, when there were 28.

The most common offences in August were related to anti-social behaviour incidents (10), followed by six cases involving violence and/or sexual assault.

In the last month there were 13 violent crimes, 11 of which were related to assaults. The peak month for reported crimes was December 2023, when there were 41 cases.